Voyages Of The USS Sasquatch

This is a casting call for "Voyages Of The USS Sasquatch", produced by "The Spirit Blade Underground Alliance"! (www.spiritblade.net/alliance)

This is a limited series, multiple episodes with a definitive ending planned. On the far distant border of our known universe and the frontier, Brianna Summers’ life and direction will be forever changed by what she faces and how she copes.

Episode 1-

Midshipman Brianna Summers reluctantly signs on the crew of the USS Sasquatch, a Patrol cutter. Although she has been expecting a practicum placement on a Fleet cruiser, this was not available to her. As she acclimates to being on a much smaller vessel, she finds that her crewmates are interesting people, not the “second stringers” as portrayed by the Admiralty. Sasquatch is then called to rescue an Arghian science ship from an artificial black hole. This leads to a showdown with two Path cruisers and a critical decision being made by Captain Jessup in order to save lives.

Please record your audition at 128kbps or higher in mp3, or use wav file format.All auditions should be sent via Yousendit (www.yousendit.com) to:paeter(at)spiritblade(dot)net***Yousendit is a FREE online file transfer service. Please remember to make use of it. Do not send your file directly tothe e-mail listed.***

Please use the following format when naming your audition files:YourName_CharacterName_SasquatchAUD.mp3Please only audition for roles marked “Recurring Role” if you are interested in recording for several or all episodes in this series. (4 episodes with the possibility of another mini-series to follow)Please submit a separate file for each character you audition for. You may send multiple files separately or in one compressed folder. In either case, PLEASE make use of yousendit.

If a role requires yelling or screaming, please take measures(lower recording levels, increasedistance from microphone, etc.) to avoid distortion in your recordings. Yourability to do this will have an impact on whether or not you are cast for these kinds of roles.

***Auditions are due by Saturday, September 4th.***

Below are brief character descriptions and the lines to use in your audition.If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at: paeter(at)spiritblade(dot)net

Thanks and have fun!

-Paeter Frandsen

AN IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING ALL ROLES IN THIS SERIES:

Military space fiction can have a tendency to be dry if subtext is not given to the lines, especially those lines dealing with exposition or “techno-babble”. Auditions that lend subtext to their lines will be looked on favorably. For example, if you record a line in which you are reporting on repairs or scientific discoveries made by an away team, consider carefully how each element of the information you are expressing makes your character feel. Frustrated, excited, mystified, etc. In your audition it’s not important that you deliver the right subtext (we can fix that in directing) but that you deliver some kind of noticeable subtext of your choosing.

Ensign Brianna “Bree” Summers: 18, female. RECURRING ROLEBrianna Summers has reluctantly signed onboard the USS Sasquatch to fulfill her shipboard practicum for graduation from the Admiralty’s Academy. Summers will find her training, abilities and her beliefs tested immediately. Despite being on a Patrol vessel, she is eager to prove herself. It will be through her eyes that the listeners will view these stories.

Audition lines:

(Narration)It was night time on the space station. This meant that the lights were dim and there were few people moving about as I had made my way to one of the observation decks. That way I could get another look at her. The USS Boston. She [was first of a new class of ships designed by and primarily constructed by citizens of Earth. A beautiful shark of a vessel designed to showcase Earth technical know-how and to be a true presence in trans-system society. She was absolutely beautiful. A work of space-going art.

(Dialogue) Sir…I was able to repair most of the crystal systems located on the bridge. I was also able to reactivate some of the self-repair functions that had gone dormant in the bio-packs. The magnetic discharges associated with plasma cannons will sometimes cause that function to go dormant. Most of the damage was caused by a massive power surge in the main relay station after the port shields failed. But it was mostly localized there as well. I have two cultures of crystals growing to make repair patches. I was also able to reconnect most of the onboard diagnostic systems. Good news is that the damages were not as bad as initially reported. Close, but not as bad.

Well, they weren’t very supportive. (eating) What is this? It’s delicious.

Tomas Gutierrez: 23, male. RECURRING ROLETomas is an old friend of Summers. Tomas is the lead navigator/helmsman on the Sasquatch. He readily admits that he is speed-hungry. It is Tomas who reassures Summers with the idea of coming on board Sasquatch “temporarily.” Tomas is very cocky and sure of himself.

Audition lines:

(Enthusiastic.) Hey, Sis.

(summers says, "Tomas?")

Who else? Saw your name on the station roster. What do you know? Little Bree Summers is almost an Academy grad. Brings a tear to my eye. Is my hair turning grey? I hope not.

Hey, that’s pretty good. We were at 32% when we limped in.

Capt. Gabriel Jessup: mid-thirties, male. RECURRING ROLECaptain Jessup is a focused professional with personal reasons for remaining on the frontier. He tends to be grim, but he is very in-tune with his crew. The crew in turn is very loyal to Capt. Jessup.

Audition Lines:

(Looking over her file) Midshipman Brianna Summers, age eighteen. You are enrolled in your final semester at the Academy. Specialization: communication systems, with a secondary as an EMT. Not the easiest track. You also speak fluent Arghian and some Patorgas. Above average grades. Your family runs freighters out of the Cygnus and New Arabeth colonies. You already have a freighter pilot rating and you are the first person in your family to attend the Academy. Midshipman, you arrived here at Station Helsbruck three days ago. You and seventy-three fellow midshipmen. Every one of you slated for a posting on the Boston. A ship, which I am told, will not be leaving its berth for at least three months.

Summers, give me public address please.(Louder. over loudspeaker of ship)Good afternoon, crew. Our orders for this cruise are fairly straightforward. Sasquatch is to travel along the frontier and service a series of eight navigation beacons as needed. Following this, we were scheduled to drop two cargo pods at the mining colony. The last leg of the eight week cruise will conclude by docking at Station Winterhaven. At that point, Sasquatch will be resupplied and new issues ordered. Let’s pray for a less exciting trip this time.

Summers, inform the Path Captain that while I pity him for following a religion which allows him to dismiss the lives of sentient beings as unimportant, mine does not. A rescue will be attempted. Got that?

Maxwell Lynch: mid-thirties, male. RECURRING ROLELynch is the weapons/defensive operations officer on board Sasquatch. Lynch has served with Jessup since they both entered the service. Lynch feels that his most important job is to watch everybody’s back. He comes across as an Australian Clint Eastwood.

Audition Lines:

A nasty little toy the Arghians came up with during the Conflagration. It was a device that could be fired into the sun of any solar system. Within ten minutes, that sun would expand to three times its normal size consuming inner planets and reducing others to cinders. The star would then collapse in upon itself, making a handy little black hole. The artificial black hole would then deplete itself within two to three weeks. All that would be left behind was an empty piece of space.

Confirmed. I have targets. Fifteen degrees port. One hundred forty thousand kilometers…And I have an anomaly. Captain, it’s a compacted black hole. Must be the place.

Dr. Elyssa Leeds: early thirties, female. RECURRING ROLEThe chief medical officer. She is a devoted doctor and the philosophical member of the crew. Well-educated, she is possibly on the run from something in her past.

Audition Lines:

It was an industrial and biological disaster. One big planet-sized toxic waste dump. The whole planet and what was left of its population was dying. The Combined Expeditionary Force sent teams to assist and it was the CEF and Patrol who sent every ship they could get their hands on.It was the one time the CEF worked with the Path. (More seriously.) The last time as well.

I’ve told you people before. I was kicked out for singing off-key in the choir.

Moose: late twenties, male. RECURRING ROLEAlton Mosberg or: Moose” is a hulking Marine. This puts him in charge of the squad of Marines which makes up most of the Sasquatch’s crew. Moose can come across as an “aw shucks” type of southern boy. But he is all business “…when the visor comes down.”

Audition Lines:

Yeah. Park it and be neighborly.

The Admiralty (snort). Babe, the Admiralty is only interested in building big fancy cruise ships that just happen to be armed. Did you know that everbody over the rank of lieutenant has an assigned valet. A valet…On a war ship.

Chief Petty Officer T’Chak: mid forties, male. RECURRING ROLET’Chak is the chief engineer on the Sasquatch. He freely admits to being obsessed with getting the most out of “his” engines. He is older with the raspy voice of someone who has inhaled various fumes for too long.

Audition Lines:

Depends. How do you feel about the Path?

Summers, you’re not in civilized space anymore. This is the frontier. Nothing out here is like it is in the Inner Systems. In the Inner Systems, the Path is generally seen as a positive thing…A force for good. Supporters of peace, education and society. Out here they’re just one step away from being a heavily armed Doomsday cult.

Vashon: twenties, female.Vashon is a “science ambassador” from the planet Arghia. She is saved from a black hole in the first episode by the Sasquatch. Vashon is a stunning young woman with green skin. When she speaks her words are well-formed and without contractions.

Audition Lines:

No, it was not. Those weapons have been outlawed for nearly a century. I do think it was something similar, however. Four days ago, an Arghian ship, a freighter, was traveling along the frontier. As it passed near this sector, their sensors picked up odd radiation signals, a continuous regular pulse. They noted this and forwarded the information to the local science authorities. A drone was dispatched to reconnoiter the area. The drone traced the radiation emissions to a nearby asteroid cluster.

Alpha: RECURRING ROLEAlpha is the ship’s computer. Alpha is a wonderfully intricate artificial intelligence whose “personality” is in constant growth. This makes her very eager to interact with the crew.

Audition Lines:

Indentify yourself.

I can access your hand unit through the port on the communications console. May I request that you place urgency on re-connecting my external receivers?

Path commander

A voice heard on the radio. Something officious would do nicely.

Audition line:

Patrol Captain. You will power down you weapons and shields then prepare to transfer the Arghian nationals to this ship.